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G. F. WESTi ICE GREEPER.

No. 297,733. Paten tedApr. 29, 1884.

WITNESSES:

N. FETZRS. HMO-mom Wuhinglon, D, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. WEST, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ICE-CREEPER' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Lita-297,733,dated April 29, 1884.

I Application filed February 23, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. WVEsT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State'ofPennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ice-Creepers, whichimprovement is fully set forth in the following specification andaccompanying drawings, in which" Figure l is a sideelevation ofanice-creeper embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan viewthereof. Fig. 3 is a front view thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

My invention consists in forming an icecree'per'embodying the means ofattachment and spurs of a continuous or single piece of wire.

Referring to the drawings. A represents the shank of the creeper,consisting of a piece of wire bent to form arms a a, running in thelongitudinal direction of the foot, the bend being at the rear end, soas to abut against the front of the heel. The front ends of the arms arebent laterally, as at b, then rearward, as at 0, next laterally, as atd, then upwardly and downwardly, as at e, forming clips B, the wirebeing continued upwardly toward the parts 0, and then downwardly, as atf, forming spurs C, it being seen that the several parts are continuousof each other, producing the entire device of a single piece of wire, towhich, however, my invention is not limited, as other metal may beemployed. It will be seen that the clips and spurs are at the sides ofthe shank A, and the arms of the latter-are elastic in their nature,whereby they are adapted to be expanded and to contact in lateraldirections.

The operation is as follows: In order to apply the creeper to a boot orshoe, the rear end of the shank is placed against the front of the heeland one of the clips fitted over the edge of the shank of thebootorshoe. The arm of the shank carrying the other clip is then forcedlaterally until the clip passes the respective edge of the shank oftheboot or shoe, when said clip their holdi ng-power.

springs into engagement with said edge, and thus both clips aresecurely. connected with the boot or shoe. The spurs are in position toengage with the ice, and owing to the clastic nature of the adjacentparts with which they are connected said spurs yield sufficiently tocause the creeper to be worn with comfort, without, however, causing thespurs to lose the heel, and thus prevents rearward shifting of thecreeper, and as the spurs are prevented from forward shifting, owing tothe swell in the sole of the shoe, it'is evident that the tion.Furthermore, the creeper,formed, preferably, of Wire. is light, strong,and durable.

In order to remove the creeper, either arm of the shank is forcedlaterally, whereby the clip clears the respective side of the shank ofthe boot or shoe, and the holding action of the creeper-is thusovercome, so that the other clip may he slipped off and the creeperfully displaced.

The creepers may be readily used with rubher or other overshoes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An improved ice-creeper consisting of a shank, clips at the sidesthereof, and spurs projecting from the clips formed of a continu-' vouspiece of wire, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

The shank abuts against creeper is securely and reliably held inposi- 2.The shank A, clipsB, and spurs 0, formed of the parts a b c d e f,continuous of each other, substantially as described.

3. An ice-creeper formed of a continuous piece of wire havinga shank,clips, and spurs, said shank consisting of two elastic arms, a a, whichare united by a bend at the rear of the shank, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

CHARLES F. wns'r.

Witnesses:

J OHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, A. 1?. GRANT.

